The Regional Secretary for the Economy assured on Thursday “there was neither criteria failure nor error” in the interventions carried out by the Government of the Azores with the construction of a passenger pier in the north basin of the Horta Port, which will place this city “a situation similar to Portas do Mar,” and accused PSD/Açores “of consciously spreading confusion among Faial islanders.”

According to Vasco Cordeiro, who spoke at the Regional Parliament, the work in progress “is extremely important to the island of Faial,” for that reason the Azorean Government “has been promoting the development of that structure.” This enhancement has led, for example, to the lowering of the elevation of the pier and of the manoeuvring basin as well.”

“There is an undeniable fact,” the Secretary assured, which that “the city of Horta will be provided with the best conditions to receive cruise ships and better conditions for passenger traffic, particularly between the ‘Triangle islands’ (Faial, Pico, São Jorge).”

The Regional Secretary for the Economy said that “one cannot build a pier for each cruise ship just as there are vessels docked at the commercial pier of Ponta Delgada, there will be also vessel docked at the commercial pier of Horta as it has always happened in Horta, Ponta Delgada, Praia da Vitoria, Velas or on Santa Maria.”

According to Vasco Cordeiro, the construction of this infrastructure is part of the strategy intended to respond to “one of the main sectors of the cruise industry with relevance to the Azores, which is the theme cruise sector. And in this context “the Horta Port will be provided with conditions of excellence for this sector.”